Updated: 11/23/02

If there were a busier musician in all of Sweden, the man would have to be known as Vintersorg. Outside of the ubiquitous Sharlee D'Angelo, Vintersorg has more projects going than ever. The deep thinker has a new release out called Visions From The Spiral Generator, and it's certainly his most ambitious work to date.

Tell me where the idea for the title Visions From The Spiral Generator came from and what it all means.

It points on the structures that are most significant for the universe, at least what we know about it so far. Based on the abstractness in the mathematical formula PI, and that it may hold the key to this scientific mystery. Everywhere in cosmos and (for us this planetary system) spiral formations are the origin, lets just look at when you exhale cigarette smoke, it moves in spirals, oil in water, milk in coffee, the face of a sunflower, a pine cone, fingerprints, DNA...etc.. Everything moves in spirals...so our album is a quest for the origin of the architect behind it. When nature itself designs, it chooses spiral formations, so we're dealing with the most essential questions of our existence.

Where did you get the ideas for some of the lyrics on the new album?

I got it from my own thinking and experiences, I really think about my existence, my role in this cosmic charade, my achievement and goals and relation towards man and matter. I know it sounds very pretentious and cheesy, but I can't put it in other words really. So the lyrics are small episodes out of those thoughts you could say. Questions that gravitate through my microcosm, reach for macrocosm.

How did Steve DiGiorgio become involved in the project?

I think Steve is a fan of spiral architecture, and as we have Asgeir Mickelson (drums) with us on the album, I was interested in interacting with him as a rhythm section at first, and then when I shipped him some pre-production tracks he really liked what he heard. And from that we developed a good connection, and when the time for recording came around and I met him for the first time, it felt as he was our lost musical brother. For us he was the bass player, and to have the chance to work with such musical intelligence is an honour. And same goes for drum god Mickelson, he uses the drum kit in a way far beyond other metal drummers does. We are so pleased to say that we'll have the same recording line-up on the next album.

With the album being recorded at three different studios, what kind of nightmares or worries did you have about the entire production?

Hehehehe...there were certainly times when we were worried about the production, but on the other hand we used only professional studios, so everything went fine. Switching between formats and travelling with tapes is a bit risky...but everything was OK. We knew what kind of sound we wanted and that made us sleep at night I guess, hehehe. Still I feel that we'll not use that many locations on the next album, it takes so much time to go around the world to record it, but we sure had fun.

Your press notes menthion that you were a "session vocalist" for Borknagar. Are you still involved with Borknagar and do you consider yourself a contributing member or a session vocalist? And how has the overall experience of working with the band been?

I'm not a session vocalist in Borknagar; I'm the vocalist in Borknagar. And I take part to some extent in the song writing, I create my vocal melodies and harmonies and am writing some lyrics and music. Working with the other Borkendales have given me a lot, first it's very good for my vocal development (now it sounds like I'm only in Borknagar to become a better musician, and that's not true) and the other guys are a good inspiration source as musician and person. We share some very same ideas about music and life, so Borknagar is very important to me, so being called just session vocalist isn't true in any aspect. And in October we're going on tour in Europe and we're working on the new album, so wheels are in motion.

What is the status of Otyg? I understand that you may have abandoned that project.

We don't know if we have ended the band for eternity, me and Mattias just felt that we had the true spirit for it, and then it's time to check out, at least for a while. Just writing and recording albums for the sake of it is so far away from who we are. We're very serious with our artistry and would never do such a thing; it's tricking the audience and ourselves. We'll see, maybe in the future we'll do something more with Otyg, but right now it's not an option.

To me, the Havayoth album is a total classic. Will you be doing any more work with them?

We're creating the second album right now, but there's some things that have to be solved first, the boring things about labels and stuff. We just want to write and record, but we can't bury ourselves neck-high in shit just because of it.

Are there any additional projects you are involved with at the moment?

I have several other projects on the rise, but it's all under negotiation so I can't reveal anything right now...sorry. But it'll be some really interesting music.

If Britney Spears wanted you to be her guitarist for her next tour, would you put all your other projects on hold and go do it?

No way, even if I'm the poorest guy in the country (yeah that's how it goes when you have a lot of projects taking so much time, but doesn't give you money) I would never do it. It would be like prostitution, giving up all my standards and ethics just for having a lot of cash. I don't say that all "commercial" music is shit, I'm just saying if the music is designed to only generate money and fame it's not artistry any more, it's entertainment, and I'm taking my own artistry too serious to be a part of that hoax.

Do you have any messages for your fans or for those who may want to check out your music in the future?

It's about here I should say something smart and philosophical, right? But I don't... hehehe.. Just check out the new album, it's something unique (at least from our perspective) adventurous music with many aspects.

Visions From The Spiral Generator by Vintersorg is nor available from Naplam Records!